hours of service

The Senate unanimously passed March 14 a bill that would extend hours-of-service waivers for propane haulers and home heating fuel haulers to March 31. The bill now goes to President Obama, where his signature would make it law.

In light of severe cold temperatures impacting much of the country and some nationwide fuel distribution problems, FMCSA and some states have continued issuance of hours-of-service waivers for fuel haulers and, now, some other relief loads, like road salt, food and livestock.

A bill introduced in the House this week would if passed extend the exemptions to hours of service rules for propane and home heating fuel haulers to May 31, essentially taking measures beyond what the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is capable of.

FMCSA announced it has shut down an Illinois-based driver with an imminent hazard out-of-service order after a fatal crash led to the discovery he had driven well over HOS limits and falsified his logs to conceal the violations.

In November Chris Gadarowski launched the "Drivers for the 'TRUE Safety Act'" Facebook page as a grassroots gathering point for those in favor of the bill’s call for an independent hours review attendant to a rollback of changes made last July.